Integration, Application and Importance of Collaboration in Sustainable Project Management

Abstract

The need to consider sustainability has substantially increased the complexity of implementing construction and infrastructure projects and new management practices have emerged during the past decade to tackle the global sustainability challenges, where the engagement and coordination of broader competences from stakeholders throughout the supply chain is required. This new project management paradigm has been accompanied by greater attention to the concept of collaborative business arrangements, often called partnering, that has emerged in construction and infrastructure projects to improve project deliveries. However, there are uncertainties about the optimal strategy to foster, integrate and maintain the required collaboration, particularly in sustainable management practices in infrastructure maintenance projects. This paper addresses these uncertainties, based on a single case study of an infrastructure maintenance contract involving an extensive collaborative business arrangement. The findings reveal that different collaborative practices affect diverse aspects of sustainable project management. Further, the extensive collaborative business arrangement has promoted sustainable deliveries based upon organizational learning and continuous improvements. Thus, this study offers an encouraging example of how extensive collaboration can be fostered and play a key role in sustainable project management practices.

Internal green integration and environmental performance: The predictive power of proactive environmental strategy, greening the supplier, and environmental collaboration with the supplier

“…Finally, positive evidence was found for the effect of GTS (H3) and ECS (H4) on EP. These findings accord with empirical findings in the literature in contexts other than Pakistan (e.g., Larsson & Larsson, 2020; Li, Qiao, Cui, & Wang, 2020; Tachizawa, Gimenez, & Sierra, 2015). The positive association of GTS and ECS with EP highlights that the firms of Pakistan are achieving the goals of reducing pollution and wastage.…”

“…A study conducted by Chin, Tatb, and Sulaimana (2015) found that environmental collaboration moderates the relationship between green supply chain management practice and sustainable performance. In summary, the existing literature confirms the significant relationships of GTS with EP and ECS with EP directly and indirectly (Larsson & Larsson, 2020; Li, Qiao, Cui, & Wang, 2020; Tachizawa et al, 2015); however, in the presence of IGI and PES, the association between GTS and ECS disappears. Thus, given the lack of evidence, we proposed the following hypotheses:H3 GTS has a positive and significant effect on EP.H4 ECS has a positive and significant effect on EP.…”

“…More recently, Li, Qiao, Cui, and Wang (2020) highlighted a significant and positive effect of GTS and ECS on EP in Chinese manufacturing firms. According to Larsson and Larsson (2020), the various collaborative practices reflect different perceptions of sustainable project management. Extensive collaborative business arrangements have stimulated sustainable deliveries that are based upon organizational learning as well as continuous improvements.…”

Path dependence and path shaping: unearthing institutional dynamics in large-scale project organizing

“…Since C. Eastman and colleagues introduced the basics of BIM in the 1970s, it has come to be seen as an evolution of CAD design systems that provide a more 'intelligent' form of interoperable information. At the core of BIM technology is the promotion of data models involving information on buildings, infrastructure and thus as innovation, it plays a central part in the digital transformation of the infrastructure sector towards sustainable management practices [6,14]. BIM innovation therefore a↵ects the project organizational behavior, but it is at the same time a↵ected by the industry at large [11,27,28,46], thus introducing a processual character.…”

“…Several infrastructure projects, including electric road systems [3] and expanding existing railways [4] have been initiated. These sustainability-oriented projects are generally multi-actor and leverage the economies of digitalization in terms of decision-making [5,6]. The adoption of digitalization is shaped by the infrastructure sector context, by the (fragmented) interaction patterns among its constituents [7,8].…”